By Krista Starkovich
Bay Days kicked off with an outdoor carnival at Carefree Living. It was packed with food, fun, games and facility tours. If you were in the mood for a little shopping, you could stroll by the various vendors ranging from a variety of jewelry, all natural makeup, to very impressive pottery made by a former student from William Kelley High School, Kari Carter.
On Friday, Alumni & Friends gathered together for a Mariner Golf Scramble at the Silver Bay Golf Course. North Shore Area Partners had a bake sale with all kinds of goodies and special treats.
Throughout the entire weekend the kids bounced, jumped and played endlessly on the free bounce houses and the bungee trampolines.
Friday evening the streets were lined with anticipation for the parade to start. Kids raced to gather up candy thrown from the floats. The V.F.W. Eveleth Clown Band from Eveleth, MN were a hit! The energy and fun they added to the parade was exceptional, especially with how hot it was out! The school spirit resonated with the Class of 1974’s 50th reunion float. A few other highlights were the DeLorean and Olson Trucking and Excavating’s truck decorated with PAC Man. Of course, everyone who participated in the parade was wonderful.
After the parade many enjoyed a free concert with Timmy Haus, a local favorites from the North Shore.
Many finished the night off with a spectacular fireworks display put on by the Silver Bay Fire Department. A pancake breakfast was put on also by the Silver Bay Fire Department, which was enjoyed by many people throughout the weekend. Many of them commented about how much they enjoyed it and they look forward to it every year.
This year was the 17th Annual Bay to Bay Run/Walk, which had a great turnout.
The Silver Bay Library had its annual Bay Days Book Sale and, even with the current library construction, it did well.
Everyone of all ages enjoyed the music of Gavin Leblanc & Friends. He is another hometown favorite!
North Shore Area Partners played bingo, had raffles and a silent auction. They had a very fun filled week end.
The Bean Bag Tourney is always serious business at Bay Days. This year’s champions are Tosha & Steve Rohloff, 2nd place goes to Nick Spina & Josh Kaminski, and 3rd place goes to Bob Nelson & Corey Cook. The Silver Bay Fire Department puts on the bean bag tournament every year and also does a raffle for special boards. This year the winner of the boards go to Joe Hill. Congratulations to everyone!
The people who were not playing in the tourney could always go watch the amazing talents of the BMX riders in their stunt shows. They did tricks and flips. The crowds were filled with excitement. If you wanted to test your own skills you could try ax throwing.
There was literally something for everyone at Bay Days to entertain themselves. Not to mention all the amazing food at the various food trucks. Nachos, tacos, sandwiches, ice cream, oriental food, BBQ, pretzels and much more.
To end the evening you could either go watch the lighted boat parade or go to the dance. The dance had to be moved to the arena due to weather concerns, which was a huge undertaking for the Bay Days staff. It was literally tearing down the entire stage and all the drink stations and relocating them, including some of the food trucks and security.
Even though it was very hot and people had to go outside several times to get air, Show Me Your Hits and Pop Rocks rocked the stage. They sang and performed while people danced and sang along to all the greatest hits. At one point, Pop Rocks threw a bunch of balloons into the crowd. Everyone was having fun, dancing, and hitting the balloons with big smiles on their faces. It was a great way to end the evening.
On Sunday, Bay Days always holds an ecumenical service. This year it was held in the Reunion Hall.
Lots of people came out on Sunday to check out all the Collector cars as well. Some were even featured at the parade.
To wrap things up, the raffles were drawn for the big prizes.
FIRST PLACE: Deb Johnson
SECOND PLACE: Dakota Marsh
THIRD PLACE: Patti Sanner
FOURTH PLACE: Patti Sanner
FIFTH PLACE: Tim Niemeyer
SIXTH PLACE: Hannah LeBlanc
SEVENTH PLACE: Steve VanHouse
EIGHTH PLACE: Rick Goutermont
AMERICINN SWIM PASS GIVEAWAY – Raylee Murphy
Congratulations to all the winners!
The Bay Days Crew thanks all the sponsors for making another successful year. There is a lot of time, effort, sweat and tears that go into planning and preparing these events. It doesn’t go unnoticed. Well done, Bay Days Crew.
